Bentler: Integrity of Kosovo guaranteed

"The integrity of Kosovo," the German general said, "is guaranteed by the Kumanovo Treaty".

The military agreement was signed in June 1999 to end NATO attacks against the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and along with the adoption at the UN Security Council of Resolution 1244, ended the war in Kosovo.

In an interview for Radio Kosovo today, Bentler said there were "still threats to security in Kosovo, but that the situation in the north can only be solved through a political process and not through military action".

Asked if NATO can now call its mission in Kosovo accomplished, Bentler said that no one can say when that time will come.

"That depends on the security situation and the progress of development. But there has been a lot of progress and we are close to fulfilling our mission," the KFOR commander said.

Bentler believes there are "no outside threats to Kosovo's security stemming from unresolved issued between Pristina and Belgrade".

The German general noted that northern Kosovo - inhabited predominantly by Serbs - was "not the only area that poses a security risk".

According to reports, he illustrated this point by mentioning recent weapons seizures and shootouts between ethnic Albanian gangs and Macedonian police.

"There are some other causes for concern, some other hot-spots that call for caution," Bentler was quoted as saying.

The withdrawal of KFOR troops from the monasteries Gorioc near Istok and Budisavci near Klina in Kosovo will endanger security and influence the preventive closure of the monasteries, " said Serbian Orthodox Church Bishop Teodosije and appealed to the international representatives in Kosovo and the Serbian Government to ensure protection of the Serbian holy sites. 

The Raska-Prizren Eparchy announced that in recent days, several sources advised the Eparchy about KFOR withdrawing its troops that secure the two monasteries.

Bishop Teodosije warned that implementation of such a decision would jeopardize the security of monasteries Gorioc and Budisavci and may have impact on their preventive detention, but also the relations between the Serbian Orthodox Church and KFOR.